War for Sol
by Darkknight343
Summary: Battlestar Galactica. My characters and my story line. Our solar system, suddenly torn apart by the return of the Cylons. 3 commanders will emerge as heroes, battling insurmountable odds as they fight to protect earth from the machines. They must prevail.
1. Chapter 1-Battlestar Indomitable

**Battlerstar Indomitable**

**Sol, Mars**

Sirens blazed as crew rushed about the corridors. Red klaxons spread flashing light around.

"All hand! All hand! To battle station! I repeat- All hands to battle stations!" A voice echoed across the ship via the intercom. "2 unknown battle ships have been detected! Prepare for contact!"

The bridge had an electric blue glow of dozens of screens and computers, all dedicated to some aspect of the Battlestar Indomitable. There are roughly 30 people on the bridge, all operating terminals and feeding their commanders information who in turn give the information to the captain and his number one, who operate the central console which displays the primary and most important data, and from here they can direct the actions of the ship. Commander Lucas,of the Terran fleet, had just walked in when the klaxons began. Immediately he walked over to the central command station (CCS), and consulted the DRADIS sensors. They were orbiting Mars currently.

"Koslov! Report!" He asked his number one, who had just arrived from the other side of the hexagonal, 30 x 30 room. Consulting the various terminal overseers, he turned and spoke rapidly and precisely. "2 unknown contacts, 50,000 km out and closing rapidly. They're moving towards us, and their size suggests Cylon Basestars. Orders sir?" Cylons... the Sol system was Terran territory, Cylons weren't permitted. At all.

"Battle readiness! Flank speed! Bring us to weapons range immediately. Man flak guns, ready all Viper and Raptor wings for imminent contact, load all torpedoes!" He shouted, making sure every instruction was clear. "Ready the tactical nuke also... just in case..." he added as an after thought.

Ten minutes later, the contacts were at 10,000 km, all flak guns were prepped, along with torpedo tubes and all wings.

"This is Commander Lucas, ready yourselves men. Possibly 2 Cylon Basestars ahead, currently holding at 10,000 km. You all know what this could mean. A Cylon war. If it is what we think, let's take first blood! Commander out." The Vipers were prepped in their launch tubes, and the Raptors were ready to deploy at a moment's notice to act as bombers, fighters or even boarders if need be. The sun was just rising behind Indomitable, lighting up all the ships.

"Sir! Outer cameras have a visual... confirming... 2 Basestars sir... " the holo terminal operator reported.

"All hands! They are Basestars. They are Cylon. They are in OUR space, over OUR planet! Let's send them packing!" Lucas shouted down the intercom, "All wings, deploy! Raptors hang back, flak prepare to stop enemy fighters and missiles! Torpedo tubes ready up!" The Vipers launched out their launch tubes, and took up a holding pattern around the ship. The flak gun operators turned on their assisted aiming systems, and torpedoes were loaded by automated magazines and picked the first Basestar.

"Tell the fighters to focus on defending the Battlestar first, but battle space managers to redirect as necessary. Raptors are only to deploy in minimum risk situations or if we're losing badly, to be used as bombers or reserve fighters, battle space managers to sub raptors in, one raptor for every 2 vipers you lose. Also, attach a single raptor to each of the four squads of vipers. Torpedoes are targeting the closest basestar first. Flak guns to focus on missiles then fighters." As Lucas rattled of the list of commands, Koslov told the necessary terminal overseers who passed it on to the necessary subordinates.

The Cylon Basestars opened their bays, and launched hundreds of Raiders between them. It was a truly daunting sight, but didn't faze elite Viper pilot, Claire. She was a veteran, as far as the fleet was concerned, probably the best Viper pilot around. She commanded all wings of Vipers stationed on the ship, second only to the battle space managers. She flew with her wingman ,Henry, who was a fairly good pilot, and her first choice for cover. In simulations they often competed for the most kills... this was no sim though, there were no retakes... then, suddenly, the Cylon Basestars erupted, with 10 or so bright blue flashes emanating from each, all along their hulls, as they fired their guided missiles towards the front of Indomitable. This was followed shortly thereafter by torpedoes from the Battle star. She activated her Viper-wide chat. "Alright guys! This is it! The real deal! DRADIS is showing half their Raiders are coming for us now, they have heavy Raider bombers mixed in, those are priority targets... let's go!" She finished, as the flak bursts began. Raiders burst through the yellow star bursts, some exploding spectacularly, but most getting through. She pushed her thrusters to full, and headed straight towards the leading formation.

"This is it Lucas..." Koslov said shaking his head.

"I know... this is just the beginning. Why now though... why only two Basestars? This was an ambush... surely there must be a bigger force?" Lucas said, wandering over to the CCS terminal, and scanning DRADIS. An explosion shook the battlestar, causing the commander to stumble and grab a rail. "Multiple impacts on the front hull... just damaged some armour, no major damage..."

"Redirect a viper squadron, to cover a raptor squad. Move the Raptors to the front of the ship, see if the can scramble some missiles guidance systems, and use their missiles. Vipers to escort... now!" Lucas shouted, glancing at the CCS to observe the battle.

The first wave of torpedoes hit the Basestar as the cylon missiles did the same. The torpedoes caused minor damage, bit still did a significant amount, apart from one of the salvo of 10, which got knocked off course by another explosion, and hit one of the stars outer tendrils, and set of a chain reaction that shredded that arm and knocked out two missile tubes. This also caused a multitude of Raiders to explode. This only caused the Cylons to redouble their efforts, and send most of the remaining Raiders against the Indomitable. The Vipers, while hopelessly outnumbered, had the flak bursts on their side which destroyed countless Raiders, and the Viper is a far more mobile craft than the Cylon Raider, capable of quick and sharp redirection in-flight . This allows the Viper to weather battles where they're outnumbered 10 to 1, but not without heavy casualties. Viper pilot Claire along with her wingman Henry, were responsible for destroying 47 raiders, along with 10 heavy raiders, shooting down 14 missiles that made it through the flak bursts, and were instrumental in destroying the first Basestar.

The first basestar was currently being pounded by wave after wave of torpedo, which impacted all along it. The odd one or two completly missed, and some were destroyed by Cylon flak, which was no where near effective as Terran flak. The basestars however, retaliated in kind. Hundreds of missiles were sent against the battlestar throughout the fight.

An explosion sounded through the ship, and screams were heard over the intercom "Sir! We just lost our left hanger bay! Vipers can't land there and its venting atmosphere... most of the ground crew escaped. " Koslov said, Looking Lucas in the eyes. "We're gonna have to go back to a stardock. We can't repair it."

"We have to win this fight first! Tell our Vipers... attack! Raptors! Lift off! Bomb the first basestar!"

Two hours later

A wave of torpedoes impacted the ship. Vipers shot missiles, then strafed the ship. Raptors hung back, and pounded it with larger, heavier missiles. Another lot hit it. Explosions tore through the basestar, and iI carried on exploding. Chain reactions were triggering, causing mass explosions. The commander realised too late what was happening. "Call them ba-" was all he could manage, before the shock wave pushed the ship away by about 100 km. "What was that!" He shouted, as the bridge descended into a flurry of sparks and shouting.

"Sir that was the basestar exploding... reports are sketchy but we believe it's reactor went critical and... our vipers..." he finished shaking his pounded his fist into the CCS, "deploy the nuke... now!" The commander shouted, as another round of missiles shook the ship. "Call all fighters back. " he added, stepping back. "Let's finish the fight."

The reactor going critical, then exploding, incinerated the central part of the ship. The outer arms collapsed in, and began to fall into Mars' gravity. The second ship was now moving in on the battlestar, and sent another wave of missiles in. This lot hit the battlestar, in one place. They tunneled, hitting one after the other, into a weak spot. And blew out the FTL drive. However, while it may seem convenient that they knew exactly where it was, this way actually part of a risky tactic break the ship in two, through a series of these strikes. The ship shook violently.

"SiR! They just took out our FTL! anticipating the commanders next question he added "the nuke should be impacting shortly" Just at as he said that, a shock wave ensued.

"That would be the nuke koslov?" Asked the commander, sarcastically. "Finish it off with torpedoes, then set a course for home, max power. The nuke lit up mars in a white flash. It completly crippled the ship, and it took but two lots of torpedoes to finish it off.

The first battle of the first Cylon war for Sol, began 2171, 3 of March over Jupiter. Two basestars fought a single battlestar, the Indomitable. The battle has been recorded in military history as one of the fiercest engagement of any war, with it lasting hours, with wreckage strewn for thousands of miles. However, by the end of it, the basestars had been destroyed, the first, reactors went critical claiming the lives of dozens of pilots, and then the other was crippled by a thermonuclear tactical warhead, then smashed to pieces at range. Many of the crew lost their lives, the left docking bay was put out of commission, multiple flak guns strafed and destroyed, and three parts of the deck left without an atmosphere as Cylon missiles found chinks in the battlestars armour. But, at the end of the day, the first battle of the war was to the Terrans, and, as the Indomitable limped home, the crew took solace in the fact that they had drawn first blood, but at a high cost.

**This is the first first in a series of stories inspired by Battle star GalactIca, anyway, hope you enjoy it. Any feedback is welcome! If you have any ideas for battles, characters, battlestars, or anything like that, tell me and I'll see what I can do!**

****I'm writing in conjunction with making a few missions on a game called Nexus, using the Battlestar Galactica mod. At some point I may upload pictures of the space battles. By**ust Google Nexus BSG download. I would seriously recommend it. You obviously need Nexus:the Jupiter incident, but well worth it. I also use the skirmisher tool, available at that link, which I use to make the battles I write about.**


	2. Chapter 2-Battlestar Mjonir

**Battlestar Mjonir**

**Sol, Jupiter**

**10th of March, 2171.**

The Mjonir ended their FTL jump, on the light side of Jupiter. Two basestars were stationary, 5,000 km away. No sirens sounded on the Mjonir, there was no panic, there was no surprise. This was the first retaliatory strike in the war.

The crew of the Mjonir had set off from their stardock orbiting Earth with one instruction from command: Send a message. Show the Cylon we will not tolerate aggression. So they set off to Mars, and waited. They had shortly thereafter received the Intel they'd been waiting for, that an enemy fleet was situated over Jupiter, within reach of the Mjonir. They could call upon support if needed to defeat them. However, if command wanted a message sent, Commander Hopewell was sure it would be best delivered by a single ship outperforming 2 capital ships. Nothing short of a complete one-sided victory would suffice. Therefore, he had set off to Jupiter, leaving the instructions he was not to be aided unless he summoned reinforcements personally. And so, the commander had a final word with his Battlestars crew.

"Commander! You're on ship-wide."

"Thank you Corbeck." The commander said to his second in command, pausing a moment to compose himself. "Brothers, sisters, heed my words now. We were instructed to send a message to the Cylon army, a message of retribution: that we will not tolerate any aggression whatsoever. Soon, we shall jump to Jupiter. This will be Our first offensive. We have already lost a space station around Saturn, along with 2 battlestars, the Korolev, and the Razor. That is an untold number of deaths... today... on this most glorious of days... we WILL send that message! This day will be burnt into their minds, as the day we struck back! No more will they advance unimpeded! I say we stop them at Jupiter! I say we don't let them have another metre of OUR solar system! So, my crew, be ready! I want maximum aggression! We will hold nothing back! Ready up! We jump in 1 minute! That is all." The commander stepped away, looking at Corbeck.

"Well well well... let's see if we can deliver..." Corbeck said smiling.

"Indeed... right, order of battle is already layed out. Once more, let's go through it: Vipers are to split into two teams, half defend us, the rest will cover the raptors, flak guns will put up a wall between us, and torpedoes will target the furthest Basestar. Ready?"

"Ready... all hands prepare for jump...3...2...1... jumping..." Corbeck shouted, his voice repeated over the intercom. They jumped, moving almost instantly from Mars to Jupiter.

The torpedo tubes fired immediately, and covered the 5,000 kilometres quickly before the Cylons realised what was happening. The explosions rippled across the furthest Basestar, causing massive damage as they were so close. Large portions of the ship began exploding, setting off chain reactions. However, the enemy ships were truly gigantic, and could take a beating. While the first salvo caught them off guard, and did inflict massive damage, it was not enough. The base stars quickly retaliated and sent a wave of around 30 missiles towards the Mjonir. In any other situation, the blue streaks gliding through the inky blackness of space may have been beautiful, but these missiles could cause terrible damage. And they did. The flak bursts began, lighting the space between the ship's with yellow explosions, occasionally punctuated by a larger explosion as a missile was detonated. The first missiles impacted- around ten of them. The Mjonir was facing the Basestars, so it should have been well shielded, as a battlestar has most of its armour toward the front. However, the Cylons had targeted the docking bays.

The explosion was phenomenal, sounding throughout the ship. "What just happened!? Someone give me answers!" Hopewell shouted, as sparks flew throughout the command room. A screen shattered, showering glass everywhere. A man was thrown through the air as his terminal exploded. "Sir! Reports from our Vipers suggest we may have lost the right upper docking bay!"

A terminal officer shouted. "Roger that. The battle plan hasn't changed! Did the raptors and vipers deploy in time? Tell them to resume the plan! Go go go!" He shouted, while running over to the injured man. Corbeck, take command, I've got to help this man! Go!" Corbeck strode over to the CCS and began issuing commands fluently and quickly. He looked so cool and collected, even as the consoles around him sparked and fizzled. He barely flinched when the ship was hit again, instead ordering a group of vipers to destroy the missiles incoming. A true hero of this battle... the commander thought, as he tended to the man's burns.

Most vipers had pulled out of the bay just in time, leaving and glancing back as the missile impacted. Luckily a few of the first vipers out had shot down some of the missiles, but a lot of ordinance was in the bay's, and already there was a clear hole in the top of the bay. "All Vipers, on me! We have to cover these Raptors!" A voice said, shaking Sven from his momentary lapse of concentration. It was his squadron commander. He glanced around his cockpit, looking for the raptors. There! Other side of the battlestar, in a diamond formation. He powered up the engines and followed them in. They dipped under the flak wall, and stayed low and fast. Raiders shot over them, attacking the Mjonir. Wouldn't be long before they were intercepted. Torpedoes whistled overhead. Years later, when he told this story to his children, he would swear he had to swerve left to avoid a Cylon Basestar missile. A raider came down, and began shooting at the raptors. It took him about a second to react, he pulled the control column down and left, gently, and brought the machine into his crosshairs. He fired, a stream of red moving at the Raider, hitting its right wing and disabling its engine. For a moment it spiralled out of control, before exploding and showering his Viper with shrapnel. Scratches. Nothing more. He hoped.

DRADIS showed they were about 1,000 km out... the raptors slowed then stopped. He took up a holding pattern, covering the bombers. Sven stopped his craft facing the basestar they were after and waited. The Raptors unleashed their payloads. Then another squadron off to the right, and another one below them, and another to the left. By the time the Basestar detected the raptors' missiles, it was too late. The raiders turned back, attempting to shoot down the ordinance. Luckily to no avail. The missiles shortly thereafter impacted the Cylon ship, and the sheer amount caused the centre to buckle under the furious bombardment. It collapsed in the centre, and the outer arms folded down as they were severed from the central column, and added to a monumental chain reaction which completely obliterated the Basestar. The raptors turned, and retreated, their ordnance spent. Then some comm chatter.

"This is Commander Hopewell. " an explosion lit up the black, and as Sven glanced to his left he could see the battlestar finish off the last of the Cylon ships. "our strike has been successful. The final basestar was destroyed by our torpedoes just moments ago. Good job. All wings come on home!" Sven came in for landing, taking his time, and noting the severe beating the Mjonir appeared to have taken.

The first Terran strike against the Cylons was considered a success. Caught by surprise, they were eradicated sighing 20 minutes, due to some careful planning and what some some may call, foolhardy tactics. Luckily, apart from a damaged fighter bay, the Mjonir took little damage. This was exactly what command wanted from Hopewell, and they were impressed by his course of action, in letting the Cylons see what one of the largest battlestars, could do on its own. It is safe and fair to say, they delivered a message.


	3. Chapter 3-Stealth-Battlestar Corsair

**Stealth-Battlestar Corsair**

**Sol, somewhere in Saturn's asteroid belt**

**13th March, 2171**

The Battlestar Corsair, a smaller type, designed for stealth, hit and run and heavy recon, weaved its way through asteroids. It was far faster and more agile than any other battlestar in the fleet, but was somewhat lacking in firepower. It pulled up sharply, squeezing between two rocks.

"Sir. We're nearing the target." Josephine said, looking left at her commander.

"Thank you number one. Cut engines to one quarter power, bring us in close. Make sure the active camo is working. Silent running. Battle stations." Commander Alexi said, looking at DRADIS, which he realised, with moderate annoyance, was all but useless here. "We're going to have to rely on our eyes here I think..." he said, to no one in particular. About 5 minutes later, they were in position and camouflaged against an asteroid.

Then, right on schedule, a basestar glided into view. Excellent Alexi thought... just what they wanted. "Begin scans. Let's collect as much intel as we can. The future of earth may depend on it." They would certainly realise they were being scanned, and this ship wasn't built for outright combat. Never the less, it could probably take this ship. "Prep the nukes. Something tells me this won't be as easy as it seems." They continued scanning, collecting every little bit of information they could in regards to the Cylon weapons, fighters, engines and capabilities.

"Not long now and we'll be able to leave sir." The recon officer, Hendrix, said. He nodded, but his stomach suddenly dropped as he realised the ship had stopped. It was now stationary in the middle of the clearing of asteroids, and levelled out. There was now nothing shielding the battlestar apart from the camo, and all it would take was a determined scanner.

"Alright sir that's us... done! Oh frak! Sir! They must've spotted us! They've deployed raiders! MISSILES INBOUND! Brace!" Hendrix shouted, desperately. The missiles shook the ship, smashing the active camo. Flak batteries began firing, and the engines powered up. "Time to fight. Fire the nukes! One at the basestar, two at those two asteroids... "Alexi said, pointing out two asteroids, and making it clear he wanted them detonated in such a way that the debris would hit the enemy ship. "Evasive manoeuvres! Jen! Damage report? " the commander shouted, as the ship took off. "Minimal... few flak guns down... about ten KIA. Took some armour... we're fine sir" she said, looking down at her terminal.

As the ship took off, another salvo of missiles exploded from the ship, which was answered by torpedoes from the battlestar. This was going to be close. The missiles hit, the flak had been damaged too heavily the first time. It had lost effectiveness. An explosion tore a part of the ship off. The engine floated backwards, away from the ship, before exploding. The other engines shut down. "Dammit! We're dead in the water captain!" Hendrix shouted, as the ship shook violently.

"Status of the nukes? Are they deployed?" A third round of explosions shook the ship, making Alexi curse violently. "Yes sir, they've just been fired."

Let's hope it's in time to save us..." a fourth load of missiles detonated, blowing 80% of the torpedo tubes and ripping half the armour off the Corsair. Screams echoed down the intercom as torpedoes exploded in the ship. A fifth load of missiles were already on their way... then the nukes detonated.

Alexi monitored them, as the bridge was bathed in red light from the klaxons, and the monitors were rapidly blown out. They detonated, effectively crushing the Basestar between two asteroids, then one hit the ship and evaporated it. Alexi fell to his knees, head on the CCS, relieved. Then he remembered... the fifth salvo... the ship's power cut out as ten explosions crippled her, and tore her heart out.

The FTL drive was incinerated, along with most of the central and upper decks. Luckily, extensive bulkheads kept atmosphere to most of the ship. MOST of the ship... there were scores of people who suffocated, clutching at handles to doors that refused to budge due to the failsafe locks. Hundreds of people were now stranded across the battlestar, which was drifting through a very active asteroid belt. The next few minutes would be a crucial test of character for every single man and women on the Corsair.

Alexi woke, pain immediately spreading down his back as he tried to sit up. The world was fuzzy, and memories began to flood back... they had lost badly... he could smell the burning, hear screams echo down the corridors and taste the desperation in the air. "Jen! Report! " He shouted, coughing and splattering.

"Commander... Jens dead..." Josephine said "along with at least 30% of the crew... probably more. Out FTL is offline, and we're drifting blind. The rest of the crew is stranded across the ship. The bulkheads wont open sir." The ship creaked and groaned under the stress.

"Right... we've got to get out of here... let's get on with it then..." he said, pulling himself to his feet.

_**What do you guys think so far? Good bits? Bad bits? Which crew do you like most so far? What would YOU like to happen next? I don't have a set plan for this story, so if you suggest something, chances are it'll help and I'd do it. **_

**Also, it's the weekend so I'll probably be posting a couple more chapters. Including one where the Mjonir and the Indomitable link up, and undertake an operation. This will be a longer chapter than usual, I look forward to the feedback off of you guys. Let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4-Mjonir Indomitable briefing

**14th March, 2171**

**Sol, Earth, Stardock.**

**Battlestars Mjonir and Indomitable are in attendance, currently under repair. Their Captains have been summoned to high command. **

Commanders Hopewell and Lucas marched down the gun metal grey hallway, their boots clicking as they walked. Their seconds walked beside them, matching their pace, clutching date-slates. They walked, turned a corner left, then right, then right again until they reached an impressive set of large, metal double doors. They had the Terran Navy Eagle emblazoned upon them, in a shining and reflective silver. Two guards stood either side of the doers, holding rifles. They snapped to attention as the commanders appeared, in full naval officer dress. They looked at one another, sharing a moment of knowing, nodded, and entered side by side. To put it simply, the room was extravagant. Large windows looked out onto earth, flanked by truly ridiculous bookcases, set on a red carpet. There was a large desk, with three chairs- one commanding, red office chair, with a command console, and two less impressive chairs situated on their side of the desk. A man sat in the chair, holding a data slate, frowning as he reviewed data.

"Please, have a seat commanders." He droned, without looking up. They awkwardly approached and sat down.

"I have summoned you here on a damned important mission, commanders. You have both of you fought pivotal battles against equally terrifying odds have you not? You, Lucas, successfully defeated the Mars ambush, and returned. And you, Hopewell, carried out the first retaliatory strike of the war. You have both been unafraid to show the enemy what you're made of, and fight them off if need be. To this end, I require you to conduct an incredibly dangerous mission. Understand?" They nodded. "Good. Now... pay attention..." he said standing, pressing a button and bringing up a holo display on the desk of Saturn. "Yesterday, the Corsair was here, in this part of the asteroid field. It was assigned to scan a basestar, which we knew to be at the same in the belt. However, we have lost all contact with them. Our probes can't find anything in the asteroid field, we only knew the basestar was going through it. Therefore..." he said, looking them in the eyes "We need eyes on the ground, so to speak. Now, your orders: find the Corsair. It's equipped with state-of-the-art cloak and recon capabilities, making it invaluable, not to mention the hundreds on board. They may have gathered very useful intel on the enemy. Our best bet is they were discovered and fought off the enemy, but where for some reason unable to exit the asteroid field and FTL back to us. You MUST find them. At all costs. Now, a few things, your ships are currently undergoing massive overhauls. As we speak, we've added more flak to your ships, the damage sustained to them is being fixed also. You are receiving the newest vipers, your Mark 3s are to be replaced by Mark 5s. They are even better, trust me. Also, we have added experimental rail guns. They look like larger versions of your double barreled flak guns, they're being mounted on top and bottom. Your torpedo tubes are still intact. You have full complements of Mark 4 Raptors, and your crews are being reinforced from Earth. The Mjonir, being the bigger ship, has more rail guns, and 4 nukes. The Indomitable has a higher fighter payload, and 2 nukes. You also have Viper-nuke capability. These nukes are significantly less effective however. " he finished, leaving the commanders open mouthed and speechless.

"Any questions?" He asked, smiling. "No..? Good! Now, remember, Corsair. Destroy the Cylons you encounter. If all hands are lost, recover the black box, and secure the ship, we'll send a clean up and salvage crew. Now, it's important that you remember- you will be unable to FTL jump while IN the asteroids. DISMISSED!" The commanders stood. Saluted, and promptly left.

_**No, it is not a particularly brilliant story in terms of character development. I accept that, but I'm trying to introduce the characters in unique ways, and focus on the grim battles. I'm planning to use these first 6 chapters as an introduction. The 7+ chapters will have more detail, and significantly more character development. Just bear with me, it takes 100% of my limited imagination to come up with these stories so takes time. **_

**Sorry guys! Some stuff has happened in my life recently, and I started a-levels recently so yano. Not a lot of free time. But I promise you all, there IS more to come. This story will get done! Soon! Trust me. I was never even expecting this to be this popular.**


	5. Chapter 5-Link up and rescue!

**20th March, 2171**

**Sol, Earth.**

Mjonir and Indomitable unclamped from their docking bays on the primary earth space station, the ISS. They had their orders, they would carry them out to the letter... they both knew each other, and the commander of the Corsair. They would rescue him... or die trying. Both the ship's used their RCS thrusters to push away from the space station, distancing themselves from it and drifting towards the moon. The Battlestar Hood, pride of the fleet, the largest battlestar ever built, thundered between the ship's, and took up its personal docking bay. As it drifted by, battle damage could be seen across its bow, and on one side the Hoods bright white lettering had been blown off, leaving a scorched blackness. They took up position, using their sublight engines, and moved about 1000 km away. This should be a safe distance to initiate the jump.

Ships moved around earth, some docking, others unlocking before disappearing in a flash of yellow as they FTL out. It was a wonderful sight. A Dauntless class carrier appeared in front of the Mjonir, followed by the rest of it's detachment. 2 Apollo class Frigates, 4 Pegasus destroyers and the Battlestsar Thor the Mjonirs 'mother' ship. The battlestar Loki was the sister ship of the Thor, and was just undocking from the ISS. They blasted past each other, the Loki offering a salute by firing a torpedo above it which the Thor then returned.

"Indomitable hailing Mjonir!" The communications officer said aboard the Mjonir.

"Put it on the holo..." Hopewell said, approaching the CCS "Well Commander Lucas..how are we going to do this?" He asked smirking.

"You already know... " he answered, shaking his head.

"Patch this through to both ships... we'll do this together..." Hopewell said, nodding to Lucas aboard the Indomitable. "Listen up men and women of the Mjonir and Indomitable. This is commander Hopewell addressing you fro the Mjonir. We have a mission to complete. Time is of the essence..."

"We are to rescue the Corsair! The Cylons may have disabled them. We all know someone on that ship... or someone who knows someone on that ship. Do this for them. Give us your all, so we can bring them home. I know the Commander of the Corsair, we both do..." Lucas said, picking up from where Hopewell left off.

"He will not have given up without a fight. I put money on him being alive, on that ship being merely disabled. They have been dead in the water for almost a week now! We rescue them NOW! We can only ask that you all do your best. You give us that, and you will know that any fault is with us." Hopewell shouted, allowing Lucas to finish off.

"We fight today not for ourselves, no, not for OUR survival, but for our brothers and sisters! We fight for Terra, for the Earth, for the Corsair and her crew! The Cylons will NOT claim another battlestar!" He finished. "Now.. let's do this... good luck Mjonir."

"Good luck Indomitable.." they ended the comlink.

"Synchronize to the Mjonir, they'll lead us in..." Lucas said aboard the bridge, looking at the CCS. "Jumping... five... four..." this was it he thought... possibly the most dangerous mission of his life. Might be the last mission ever. "One... JUMP..." the nav officer said, always taking glee in shouting jump. They flitted from one point in space to another, just above Saturn's rings. They were a few thousand km away from the Corsairs last known position. This was it, the unknown. They were in full, open conflict. All bets were off. The new railguns would probably help, and the new fighters and bombers. But if the terrans had lost contact with a ship, the cylons might've too. They were probably in the area.

"Indomitable, the Cylons may he mounting an investigation themselves. Let's take it slowly. "

"I was just thinking the same thing... we'll move in and scan, try and skim over the top of the belt. I don't want to get caught up in this field too much... cover us from higher up."

The Indomitable dropped down, just above the asteroids. It began detailed scanning and mapping of the asteroids. This would take a few minutes. It was collecting a massive amount of data about every km of space below the ship. It scanned for abnormal patterns, unusual metal compositions, debris, ammo casing, fighters everything. Ten minutes later, and they got a blip. About 3 thousand km down and 5 thousand away. The Mjonir Sat motionless above.

"We've got something... Might be the Corsair... looks like two asteroids smashed together... picking up remnants of Cylon metals high levels of radiation, same type produced by our missiles. Moving in Hopewell. Let's get this done." Lucas said. Followed by him saying "Koslov! Take us in while I try and piece together what's happened."

The Mjonir followed the Indomitable, attempting to avoid asteroids as they drifted through the fields. They occasionally had to blow one up with their flak cannons, as they weren't as nimble as the Corsair. They burst into a 'clearing' of sorts, the Battlestars spreading out and scanning. The Mjonir took up position left of the Indomitable, and began its scan. It picked something up. "Commander! Look! We've found it!" Corbeck called from the other side of the bridge.

"Toss the image to my terminal!" He answered, advancing on the CCS. It indeed looked LIKE the Corsair, but some bits were just missing... the one engine was gone, there was a whole straight through it where the FTL was located. There were multiple visible hull breaches.

"Lucas! We found her! 60 degrees off your port. She's definitely dead in the water, no FTL by the looks of it."

Roger that sir..." Koslov said, cursing as he realised the dismal state it was in.

"It looks like she smashed two asteroids into a basestar Hopewell" the commander of the indomitable said, returning to his terminal. "We should send a few Raptors and..."

He was interrupted, as a series of sirens sounded. "Dammit... Mjonir looks like we have company! Prep for contact! Good luck!" He managed, before he cut the comms. Three Basestars burst from three different directions. Behind, in front and to the left. They wasted no time in deploying raiders and making their intentions clear. This was war after all... "Mjonir, we'll move in to the Corsair, God knows how many more are on their way. We'll EVA the crew and black box then blow it. We'll go up and FTL to earth. Roger? " Lucas said, as Koslov told what to who and got the shop underway.

"Copy that... the Mjonir will keep you covered. Let's do this." The Mjonir swapped sides with Lucas's ship, protecting it from the Cylons.

The basestars opened up with missiles, and raiders shrieked forwards. Flak walls went up, and vipers were deployed. The Mjonir turned, surrounded forwards, left and right. It was going to take hits.

"Corbeck... use the torpedoes on the forward star. Shot the railguns at the other two. Let's dish out some damage... ALL WEAPONS FIRE! FIRE NOW!" Hopewell shouted, commanding his crew impeccably over the ensuing battle.

The railguns spewed out streams of metal slugs at ridiculous velocities. There were larger railguns that were slower firing than their counterparts, but fired 300mm slugs as opposed to 20mm. Between the Mark 2 (20mm ) and Mark 3 (300mm) classes of railgun, two basestars would've been no problem. The torpedoes pounding the third may even have allowed a victory. Let alone another battlestar present. However, there were reinforcements coming.

The nav officer manoeuvres his ship in close, and Raptors were deployed. They couldn't risk drawing fire considering the fragile state the Corsair was in, so half their vipers had gone to assist the Mjonir, the rest covering the Raptors. The Raptors landed on the Corsair and cut holes in the ship, providing a tight seal between hull and raptor. Multiple insertion teams entered. The rescue op took 20 minutes by the end of it 50% of the crew had been returned... they were all that was left.

"MJONIR! Hows it going Hopewell? We've got the crew.. there's someone here who'd like to say something..." Lucas said "Koslov, power up all batteries bring us alongside. Return fire!"

"Hopewell...this is commander.." he paused, coughing... "ahem... commander Alexi of the battlestar Corsair. Of the Terran navy. Thank you for your timely arrival. You'll be glad to know we have the black box and the date intact. I give you permission to fire a nuke at my ship. Don't let the cylons desecrate it... over..." Alexi said, stepping down and walking out of the bridge back to his crew.

"Lucas, let's go... we'll ram a nuke down its throat and then leave... nuke away... " Hopewell said. "Follow us up..." the nuke sailed through the air, just over the Indomtable, which had quickly powered away from the Corsair. It impacted, leaving a moment where nothing happened. Then, the asteroids were shunted back, as the shock wave pushed then away. The Corsair was immediately incinerated. Alexi fell to his knees, head in hands, as his crew huddled around corridors, occupying similar positions. "It's jot your fault... Josephine said truthfully. "You did all you could..." she said, sitting by him.

Meanwhile, both commanders had ordered all fighters back. Two of three basestars had exploded. Minimal damage to the battlestars."Koslov! Shoot em with a nuke!"

Yes sir! He responded, saluting. The final basestar evaporated, quite spectacularly.

"Good job, commander. " came the response over the comms. "Anytime Hopewell... anytime..."

The ship's moved swiftly up, out of the fields. They quickly plotted a course to earth.

"Hey! Mjonir! How about you synchronize to us this time yeah?" The Indomitables nav officer, Olivia, said to the Mjonir's, laughing.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Just because we did most of the fighting!" Viola answered, smirking.

A dozen bright yellow flashes appeared to the left of the battlestar.

"Contact! " both commanders shouted, unknowingly at almost exactly the same time. A quick scan revealed the contacts to be basestsrs. But these were 3x the size of the marauders they'd been fighting.. easily...

"Lucas! We can't fight them! We've got to go!" Hopewell shouted, as he paced. "I agree... FTL now! To earth!"


	6. Chapter 6-R&R

**20th March, 2171**

**Sol, Earth**

The Mjonir and Indomitable appeared, 1000km behind the moon, the telltale yellowish flashes indicating an FTL jump. They paused, and drifted, before RCS and sublight engines kicked in and stabilised them. "Hopewell. Stay a report?" Lucas said, hunched over the CCS, attempting to get his own status clear.

"We are... all good to go I believe Lucas. Should we head on back?" He said, sarcastically, already ordering Viola to bring them home.

"We certainly should. When we get back, first rounds on Alexi, so I'm told!" Lucas said laughing as he saw Alexi grimace, before bursting into genuine laughter. "Attention crew of the Indomitable, we are home. Relax now guys. We'll be docking shortly, and from the ISS you can get a shuttle to Earth or Mars. I wouldn't recommend Saturn personally. I hear there are some annoying machines in the neighbourhood. Oh... wait... we kicked their asses! Get some rest guys. You've earned it... oh and by the way, that's an order. Thank you all." The applause was immediate, mixed with woops of delight and crewmen hugging each other. Koslov patted him on the back, grinning from ear to ear. "Koslov. We did it we won..."

"This battle. There's still a war to fight..." Koslov responded, bitterly.

"And once they give me and my crew a new ship, we'll fight it with you Koslov. " Alexi said, followed by Josephine.

"I'm sure you will... But right now Alexi, you, me and Hopewell have some catching up to do." Lucas said, slapping. him on the shoulder.

The battlestars docked, the mag clamps clicking onto the metal and holding them in place. The Thor was still docked, in the only docking bay big enough for it, still undergoing extensive repairs... and upgrades by the looks of it. Hopewell wondered if these railguns would be standard issue now. He hoped so, they'd turned the tide of the battle. He pondered all this as he walked down the metal airlock corridor, glancing out the reinforced glass windows.

"HOPEWELL! It's R&R time! Let's get to Earth! There's this GREAT place I know on earth. We gonna get a shuffle on big man? " Lucas said, smiling, and hitting his arm. He looked down at Lucas, shaking his head. "Fine then. Let's go... Alexi?"

"I'm right here." He said, from the end of the airlock.

"Well... looks like the gangs all here..." Lucas said smirking.

"What is it?" Hopewell asked. "what's so funny?"

"Well... we're getting the band back together..." he said, exploding into contagious laughter. The two others walked off, shaking their heads. "What? Come on! Blues brothers reference! At a time like this! That takes skill!" Lucas said, calling after them and following.

They took a navy shuttle to earth, because luckily one of the perks of being in the Terran fleet was free transport to and from the ISS and Mars and Earth. They arrived at the spaceport on the ground at London, the touch down shaking the ship as it hit the pad. The doors opened to the outside, sunlight pouring in. All threw commanders held their hands up, as they were temporarily blinded. The crew chief stood up, and shouted "Commanders Hopewell, Alexi and Lucas to submit to the admirals office for an after action report and debrief. Immediately."

The meeting with the admiral took 2 hours, where an account of the battle was told. Alexi then gave his seven day report in, as he had Had time to literally write a report in the week he was stranded. After that was done, they were told what they had accomplished. 'War altering ramifications' was how he described the contents of the black box, along with shaking his head at the news of the fleet now in position above Saturn. However, when it was done, the commander told Alexi that closer analysis of the amount of crew saved revealed that not 50, but 75% had survived. For a battlestar as crippled as the Corsair, this was remarkable. They were all given the Terran Imperious cross for their tremendous work and rescue under fire, succeeding in battle testing a number of prototypes successfully and rescuing a battlestar, destroying 3 basetars and making sure the Cylons didn't get their hands on the Corsair. They also retrieved invaluable scan data. They left, and continued in their way.

After locating a suitable pub in London, they sat down at a table I the corner. Alexi was forced to buy the pints, as it was theorized that they had saved his life and, after returning, sat down. Lucas looked around, for any member of the navy. No one. "Well Josh, Alex, we can drop the act here. "He aid smiling. "No one realises here"

"What? That were brothers? Well I didn't think they would you idiot. " Josh Hopewell said.

"Regardless, " Alex said, " it's nice to be able to drop the act... they'd never have put us in the same quadrant if they knew" Alex drunk, wiping his mouth.

"Yes well, that last mission was a close one. To think we're actually at war now..."

"Yeah... ever since the Cylons rebelled... ooh... must be what... 50 years ago now. They just slipped off to Alpha Centauri. Not a wink since! Then suddenly old Lukey boy here is attacked! " Josh said, laughing.

"They must've smelt him over in their system!" Alex added collapsing into laughter.

"Beep boop, what is that smell? We must invade to get rid of it!" Josh added.

"Yes yes, very funny. Let's move on shall we..." Luke said, drinking a quarter of his pint.

"Where to next then, do you think? We gonna attack them or what?" Josh asked, leaning in and whispering. They looked at each other, one after the other, each making eye contact.

"I reckon we'll have to fight that umm you know, massive fleet over Saturn. Those ships man... massive." Luke said. "Alex.. what were you scanning back there? It must've been important. The admiral seemed impressed. "

"Propulsion systems, weapons, fighters the works. I didn't have time to go over it though, and I have no copies so God knows what was so important on it."

"I wish to make a toast" Josh said standing. "To the Corsair! A fine battlestar! She went down fighting and died a warriors death!" Here here, came the response.

They talked like this for many hours, the conversation going back and forth. Until, finally, it was late. Time to head back to the shuttle, then the ISS, then the Battlestars. None of then had family, not anymore. They had the navy, and they had each other and that was enough.


	7. Chapter 7-Alex's new command

**21st March, 2171**

**Sol, Earth, ISS**

Alexi stepped out of his temporary accommodation aboard the station. He stumbled and tripped over the bottom of the bulkhead door. He'd made sure not to drink too much, but it had still had an effect on him. He had a splitting headache, in part due to surviving aboard the Corsair for seven days straight... utter Hell it had been. He remembered it, as he marched through metal corridor after metal corridor, his shoes clunking. 7 days. For a week he had to ensure the survival of his crew, with limited supplies and limited power. They had been able to keep the life support going, and rudimentary sensors up. He prided himself on knowing that no one had died of dehydration, that there was not a single death he could've stopped.

He was here... the Commodores office. He knocked, and entered.

Commodore Mira of Terran intelligence, greeted him. She was from Japan, he believed. She had dark hair, in a ponytail, and wore the dress of a Commodore. Her stern, green eyes belied her fairly youthful appearance. Mira stood behind her desk, glancing up and indicating he should sit, before reviewing her data slate. She cursed out loud as a report flashed up. Alexi cleared his throat. "Commander! Do you understand how important my work is?" She asked, sharply prior to continuing. This went on for five minutes, before finally she slammed the tablet down and stared at him.

"Why am I here ma'am?" Alexi inquired, meeting her steely gaze head on.

"You're here because I have a mission for you." She answered, looking at him. "Yes, I know, you are devoid of your battlestar for obvious reasons. However, as we speak, I am sourcing a replacement. Yes, you will keep you crew, along with replacements for your... losses..." Mira said, anticipating every question he had.

"All you need to know, right now, is that you're in the intelligence game now. And trust me, to play this game, you know what you need? Clues in the name."

He nodded dumbfounded. "When do I start..? " He asked tentatively.

"You board a transport on the... " she picked up her slate, consulting it once more "30th. We'll assemble your crew. You should arrive on the 1st. We'll also brief your crew en route."

"I'm sorry... " Alex said, standing "but... board a transport to where exactly?"

"Why, Mars my dear boy. You're working for me now." She said, grinning like the devil.

**1st April, 2171**

**Sol, Mars**

The transport stopped over Mars, before beginning it's descent though the atmosphere to the landing pad. Mars had undergone extensive terraforming from 2070 to the present day. The air was breathable, but it was not a pleasent environment in no way shale or form, even after 100 years. It was also home to an extensive colony, from which some outstanding naval commanders had emerged. Mars was home to the largest factories, forges and stardocks. Sandstorms plagued the inhabitants of Mars daily and without water from Earth and asteroids they wouldn't survive. However, they also had vast asteroid mines, and stupendous defence networks, with asteroids that Had been mined, moved into a stable orbit and converted into what is essentially an immobile, heavily armed battlestar.

Commander Alexi stepped out into the harsh, unforgiving atmosphere. He was told that, for the next 9 months, this would be his base. His crews base. And their home. The base that was his was located in a mountain, with very few man made objects on the outside, other than this solitary landing pad. He walked with his command cadre to the only other visible man made object. A set of bulky, automated doors. They opened as he approached, and he entered.

Immediately the atmosphere changed from oppressive, windy and dusty to oppressive, bleak and desolate. He shook his head. This was no one's 'home' he thought.

"Not very homely, eh cap?" Josephine said grinning.

"Let's just see what's what first.."

They entered what appeared to be an air lock. The outside doors shut,then the inner doors opened. The scene was fairly similar further in. The corridors were long, and gun metal grey. Every door resembled the bulkheads of the ISS. This facility went down 30 levels, with the command centre lower, and residential higher. Right at the bottom was the hanger. They took an elevator down while the crew began getting settled in and moving to present accommodation.

They reached the hangars. Two ships. One was a civilian style ship, which Alexi quickly identified as the Odyssey, a spec ops under cover prototype. The other was unknown to him. It was similar to a battlestar. But smaller and somehow... less bulky. It reminded him of the Corsair, but this must be even stealthier. He could recognize railguns in the sides and on top, and torpedo tubes at the front. Fighters came out a single bay at the bottom, as it had no arms. The name sketched I white lettering on the side read 'Appollo' This was his new command? He liked it.

"Commander. Hello." He turned, and saw a remarkable woman approaching him. She was Martian born, and raised. He could tell from her distinct white her and reddish eyes. Her skin was dark, a reaction to a harsh life growing up on Mars. "I'm Colonel Craz, Naval intelligence. Reporting for duty... Captain. Or didn't they tell you you'd been promoted?" She said, smirking.

**Guys! Appreciate all the feedback I'm getting. I try and PM everyone who reviews to say thanks and respond any questions. Thanks to you all! Didn't think I'd even get this far to be honest!**


	8. Chapter 8-Lucas' Promotion

**24th March, 2171**

**Sol, asteroid belt near Mars. **

Rear-Admiral. Had a nice ring to it... he supposed. It was a lot of responsibility Luke reflected, as he sat in his quarters. He was now in charge of an entire battle group, not just The Indomitable. Plus, he was now going to be thrust into even thicker fighting. Harsher battles, bigger casualty lists, larger consequences for every victory and defeat. However, he had the promotion now and he was determined to see it through to the best of his ability. A knock sounded at his door.

"Enter!" He said, standing up from the side of his bed and glancing out of the circular reinforced glass window, to space.

"Sir... you're needed on the bridge..." Koslov said saluting as the commander turned frowning.

"Thank you Koslov. I'm going to need your help here. " he replied, walking out. As the Rear-admiral exited his room and walked out into the halls, Koslov smirked and shook his head. He'd been with Lucas for his entire naval career. He wasn't going to give up now! They walked down corridors that were surprisingly easy to follow, with coloured lines indicating what was where. They passed crewmen going about their buissness, each saluting Lucas as he passed, snapping their heals together. They got to an intersection at the very centre of the ship. An engineer was chest deep in the flaw, repairing something. His toolbox was several metres away.

"Oi! Fred! Gimme the pocket welder!" He demanded, head buried in his work, and his left hand in mid air making clutching gestures. His partner was no where to be found. The Rear-Admiral crouched down into the box, knowing which tool was required, pulled it out and handed it to him adding a "there you go"

"About bloody time..." the engineer exclaimed, cutting himself off as he recognized Lucas, who walked off chuckling. "Glad to help!" He called back.

They arrived at the bridge, and were bathed in the blue light of the command consoles. "Sir! Command on the channel for you." The comms officer, Harry, said.

"Thank you. Patch me through. Command. This is Rear-Admiral Lucas. Awaiting orders."

"Good to hear Comm- I mean, rear-admiral. You're to patrol your area for now, until such a time as there is a mission for battle group... have you come up with a name yet..? " command inquired

"I was thinking Arrow. You know, straight to the point..." he answered chuckling to himself.

"Very well, battle group arrow, you are to patrol you quadrant until your orders are updated. Out."

" 'Arrow' sir?" Olivia asked, looking up from her terminal.

"Hey! My decisions are far far above your pay grade!" He said winking. "Now, let's get to work."

Battle group Arrow consisted of; The battlestars Indomitable and, the brand new ship Hood. The Hood was a British built ship, and was a slow moving, heavy hitting ship with large fighter capacity. The Indo was smaller, coalition built, but faster. There was also a carrier ship, the Trojan, a small ship, dedicated to carrying dozens of fighters and bombers but with limited offensive capabilities, built by the Russian Federation. 3 escort destroyers, long, cylindrical and thin, they could return fire from any angle and constantly rotated while fighting to spread damage, however this also meant all guns could not be brought to bear. They were the Centaur, Apollo and Cyrene, all coalition built. And, finally, the supply ship Serenity. Next to no offence, but ridiculous point defence in the form of flak, and was more than capable of bringing supplies from Earth to the fleet. This was his battle group now... his ships... his warriors. Lucas just hoped they were up to the job.

"Sir! Commodore Keys is requesting orders!" Harry said, and then added "as are all other Commanders!" Lucas nodded.

"Tell them we are to assume a patrol formation, and prevent and Cylon activity in our region of space. Put the Hood and Trojan into one group, Apollo and Centaur into another, and we shall patrol one area with the Serenity. We'll split up, but all ships be ready to move back to these cords should we receive alternate orders. End transmission." He dictated, glancing at DRADIS as ships went to their designated areas and swept for activity. Luckily,he didn't have to micro manage, as Koslov dealt with most of the nitty gritty details, such as patrol routes. This was going to be a long tour. A long war.

Damn he thought. He'd just realised what the date was... it was THAT day again. He hated it. As if it was enough pressure to command a small fleet, he was now thinking of her. Dammit! Luke Had to focus. Come on man, he thought you're better than this.

"Sir..? Are you.. OK? Someone asked. "Yes yes I'm fine... notify me if anything changes..." he answered, leaving the bridge. He got to his quarters and sank to his knees, head in hands. Life was hard enough now without added pressure. His left hand found the Thors hammer at his neck, and he clutched at it, as he brought his other hand down hard onto the steel floor, a ding echoing through his room. Couldn't think like this. Just couldn't. He stood up, wiping the tears from his face, and glancing out his window as asteroids drifted on by. He was in charge now... no one else...

**Hey guys! I appreciate all the support I'm getting at the minute! I'm trying to incorporate any ideas you guys are giving me into my story. At the minute I'm just trying develop the characters a bit! Don't worry we will return to action, but I think it's important that we know WHY the characters are doing what they do, and that we care about them, it's not just about explosions. I will also be expanding on the backstory a bit don't worry, you'll be getting it in drips and drops so you know. Anyhow, thanks to all you guys you really make it worth the time I put into this! Im trying to do a chapter a night so. Anyway, tomorrow you can look forward to an update on what the Mjonir and her crew have been getting up to!**


	9. Chapter 9- Hopewells' choice

23 March, 2171

Sol, Main shipping lane between Jupiter and Mars,

The commander paced the bridge. This was a baby sitting duty. No two ways about it. Josh hated it. His crew worked like a well oiled machine, operating at peak efficiency. Even now, his command cadre were working diligently at their terminals, relaying information and important commands or updates. He shook his head. This was one of the largest ships in the fleet... Sat in space observing cargo ships go back and forth. A ridiculous task for such a renowned ship and crew. They should be fighting the Cylons not sitting on their asses waiting for an attack that probably wasn't even coming. The Cylons had been pushed back to Neptune! Nowhere near Jupiter. They were on the run back to their home system. He turned on his second in command, who was listening to a report from Viola the nav officer. "Corbeck!" He called, making an 'over here' gesture. Corbeck nodded to Viola, patted her on the back and walked to the Commander "Sir?" He asked, straight faced. He felt he knew what was about to be said.

"Is this... REALLY the best use of our time Corbeck?" Josh said, looking at the floor. He pointed at DRADIS on the CCS. "We've sat here for what, a day now at least! And you know what we've spotted? Nothing! Didly squat! Ridiculous!" He shouted as he leant on the terminal in the centre.

"I understand sir. It's a bit pointless really.." he answered, nervously.

"Sir... contact on DRADIS... another cargo ship." Some one reported. The commanders hope for action died as he finished his sentence.

"Thank you... Corbeck. You have command. I'll be in my quarters. Keep me posted." He snapped as he marched out the bridge towards his room.

It had been a tense couple of weeks... both of his brothers had been in the thick of the fighting. Now they were completely separated. No lines of communication whatsoever. There were rumours that Luke now commanded a battle group, and Josh approved. He'd always been one of the more strategic thinkers of the family. On the contrary, however, Alex Had disappeared. One minute he was at the ISS the next no one knows. Not even a rumour. Him and his entire crew just vanished. He was in the intelligence business though, so a sudden disappearance? Not out of character to be frank. He entered his room, looking around. On his wall hung a picture of an earlier battlestar, one of the first. Sitting on his bed, he looked out his small window at the vast nothingness of space. Somewhere out there, the Cylon war machine lurked, no doubt waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, taking revenge for their enslavement as a species. Humans, cylons... they weren't that different he thought. They both fought for ultimately futile reasons, resources, space, ideologies, each claiming to be in the right without and real evidence. It stank of irony.

He reminisced back to the early days of space and exploration, the first battlestars and the first colonizers of Mars. The transforming process. Throughout it all, factions had begun to form and stances were taken, and just as war was looming the cylons appeared. Just like that, humans had a common enemy and the Terran Navy was born, New ships designed, the fleet expanded and the solar system aggressively colonized and explored. These days, earth was a united force, countries are still in existence but now they trust one another, a far cry from the 21st century when they were at each others throats. Now it was the cylon vs the human which was of course totally different because they were just machines. Easily hateable and blamable. Josh thought of winning the war, what then? No common enemy? Would the borders be drawn up once more? Or would the unification last? He decided quickly that none of that mattered. The lives of his crew were of the utmost importance. Little else came into the equation.

The intercom buzzed into life. Corbeck's voice sounded out.

"Sir! We've detected a ship exiting FTL about 1,000,000, kilometres out. You'd better get up here"

"Copy that in my way!" The commander said, standing up and jogging towards the bridge. He left his contemplations at the door. As he entered the bridge, Josh could see the DRADIS sensor picking up the red blip. He walked towards Corbeck and cleared his throat. Corback developed walking to the central control column with Josh.

"We don't know what it is sir. Fairly big. At the minute it's just sitting off our port, technically it's not in our jurisdiction because it's not a threat to this shipping lane, but it is unidentified. "

He finished, looking him in the eyes. "Recommendation number one?" Josh asked, always eager to get the seasoned officer's advice.

"Phone it in, ask to investigate. Command should see it as a threat worth investigating." Josh frowned, staring at the red blip. "Communications, inform command we're investigating a suspicious ship near the Jupiter-Mars shipping lane, standby." The communications officer nodded, then told the commander the message was sent. "Helmsman, take us in... sound a call to arms. " The klaxon sounded once more, this time a lighter green light signalling no immediate danger. This was going to be interesting.

As they neared, the scanner told them that the object was indeed quite substantial. It was hidden in some form of gas cloud, explaining why it was undetectable. The command take us in closer was sounded, and the ship approached the edge of the cloud. "What is it?" He asked.

"Harmless sir. Just blinds are scanners, quite common around Jupiter nowadays." Corbeck responded, studying some charts. "Very well... take us in. "

As they entered, the scanners were restricted to about 100km, which is practically poking distance. The red blip was gone. "Has it left? " Josh asked.

"Negative sir. I believe it's the just the jamming." The sensor officer reported before returning to his section of the bridge and his subordinates. They edged close to the centre of the gas. They burst into the centre, unexpectedly. It was like a bubble of gas, with normal space in the centre.

"Sir! It's a satellite!" Someone shouted. "What kind?" Came another shout. There were several seconds of silence as information was passed on, checked and more scans were taken. "It's human sir. "

"Human!? Impossible surely." Josh retorted, shaking his head and looking towards Corbeck.

Just then, a ship emerged from the gas. It shot a energy weapon towards he Mjonir. "Incoming!" The weapon was some form of EMP. It completly knocked out the electric systems on the battlestar, plunging it into an inky blackness, and leaving he crew stranded in the dark and defenceless.


End file.
